


Our love is tattooed on our skin

by Indrel



Series: Zukka week 2021 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambassador Sokka (Avatar), Canon-Typical Violence, During Canon, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Post-Canon, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Protective Zuko (Avatar), Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Tags May Change, Tea Server Zuko (Avatar), Zukka Week 2021, no beta we die like jet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 03:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30082806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indrel/pseuds/Indrel
Summary: From a young age Sokka had heard stories about Soulmates and how they were forces of change in the world - good or bad. From a young age Sokka decided he wanted nothing to do with any soulmate. Unfortunately for him, the spirits had other plans for him when a certain Fire Nation Prince crashed onto his shore.From the south pole to the north pole and then back again, this is the story of how a pair of soulmates found each other and how their relationship developed, told through the stories of their soulmarks.Or5 times Sokka and Zuko gained a soulmark during or in the aftermath of war + 1 time they gained a soulmark while at peace
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zukka week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210442
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Our love is tattooed on our skin

**Author's Note:**

> As I was working on my zukka week story for the prompt soulmates and tattoos I realized that basically all the prompts would fit into this one story and I couldn't help myself so here's the first chapter of the story. I'm hoping to finish this fic before the week is over, but since I haven't written anything except the outline and this first chapter I won't make any promises. 
> 
> The premise of this soulmate story is that soulmarks appears in instances that mark an important change in the relationship between the two soulmates, such as the first meeting.
> 
> Zukka is the main pairing of this fic and the kataang is a minor side pairing
> 
> I don't have any beta so any mistakes is my own. I'm still very new to writing in this fandom so if I get the characterization wrong that's why.
> 
> I hope you like it!

Gran Gran had told him and Katara stories about the spirits when they were younger. Her favorite story to tell was the one about Tui and La, The two Great Spirits of the moon and ocean and the two spirits watching over the water tribe. Gran Gran had told them that Tui and La were the first ever pair of soulmates; that they were one half of a whole and only together were they complete. 

From there Gran Gran had continued on to tell them more about soulmates. About the perfect pairings created by the spirits, two halves of one soul. She told them that soulmates would find each other through the marks that would bloom on their skin upon important moments in their shared lives. And that soulmates were responsible for some of the greatest changes in the world. 

His Gran Gran had told him about how rare soulmates were and that it was rarer still that they found each other. She told him about great love stories. But she also told him about the tragedies that followed far too many a pair. About soulmarks that only appeared as one was killing the other and then it was too late. She told them about Oma and Shu, the first two earthbenders who had been separated by war but their love had overcome it all. The Avatar and their soulmates, and the incredible changes they drove through - but also the horror that could arise, as Roku and Sozin had been soulmates and that the last mark they shared was the mark of Sozin betraying and killing Roku. 

While Katara loved the stories about soulmates, just like with Spirits and religion, Sokka decided at a young age that he wanted _nothing_ to do with soulmates. It all sounded like horse-bullshit. Why on earth would anyone want a soulmate when it seemed like it turned out bad almost all the time? No, Sokka rejected the whole thing.

Unfortunately, the spirits were also huge assholes that apparently had other plans for him.

1\. 

Sokka faced the huge Fire Nation ship alone, war paint perfectly applied and his weapons at the ready. Staring up at the monstrosity, he knew he was about to die. The ship would be swarming with firebenders and soldiers while he was alone. Yes, Sokka would die, but he would die defending his village with everything he got. He had been preparing for this his whole life and after his father and the other men went off to war, he knew that this would be his fate, defending the village to his last breath. 

The front of the ship opened, creating a ramp that smashed into his snow wall and completely destroyed it. The force of it all almost made him fall to the ground but he steadied himself and stood tall. If he was going to die he was doing it on his feet. 

Down the ramp three Fire Nation soldiers stalked, one in front and two right behind him. They were all dressed in red and black armor. The faces of the two in the rear were covered by white faceplates painted like a skeleton. The one in front had his face out in the open but the huge scar covering the left side of his face made him equally intimidating. Sokka gulped and his heart was beating a thousand miles a minute in his chest. He charged anyhow. 

Before he had any chance to attack the fire nation soldier in the front, the spider broke Sokka’s spear in pieces and swept his feet out from under him. He was sent falling off the side of the ramp, face first into the snow. His ankle burned in pain, but he forced himself up and tried again, sending his boomerang at the soldier. It hit him in the back of his head and almost knocked him off his feet. For a moment he seemed completely dazed but unfortunately, the soldier quickly caught himself and soon Sokka was eating snow again. 

One of the kids threw him another spear and he tried to attack again, but the soldier broke it in pieces and hit him in the head with it until he fell down and stayed down. There was nothing Sokka could do as the soldier grabbed Gran Gran and started screaming about the Avatar. Shame and anger blended in Sokka’s belly. He wanted to rip the soldier apart for daring to lay a hand on his grandma and making the women and children of his village cover in fear as he waved flames around. But he had tried and failed to lay even a single hand on the soldier and except for the blow of his boomerang to the back of his head, he was entirely unscathed. Sokka was a failure. He couldn't even bring down a single soldier and now his village was at the Fire Nation’s mercy.

Then Aang came sweeping in and saved the day. 

Unfortunately, even Aang soon became overwhelmed. After revealing he was the Avatar he left together with the soldiers to make them spare Sokka’s village. Left defeated in the snow, Sokka and Katara stood watching as the ship disappeared towards the horizon, utterly humiliated. 

Katara sniffed and grabbed his forearm. “We have to go after them and save Aang.”

“Are you crazy? We barely survived the first time and now you wanna go back for more?”

“Please, we have to, he’s my soulmate”, Katara begged and rolled up her sleeve to reveal a small tattoo of a penguin seal on her wrist. A tattoo that Sokka _knew_ hadn’t been there the day before. 

Of course. Of _course_ his sister’s soulmate was the bloody Avatar! Well there was nothing to do but follow the ship then. His sister would without doubt do everything in her power to rescue her soulmate and Sokka couldn't let her go after the enemy alone. So with some reluctance he climbed onto the Avatar’s huge beast and went on a rescue mission.

It wasn’t until after they had saved Aang and was hundreds of meters into the air, flying away from the Fire Nation ship, that Sokka had a chance to check himself over for injuries. He mainly only had a few bruises, though he could remember a burning sensation in his ankle. It felt fine now, but considering he had faced the _Fire_ Nation he wouldn't be surprised to find he had been burned. 

So while Aang was busy steering the flying bison and Katara was busy staring at the boy, Sokka rolled up the edge of his pants and pulled down his shoe enough to get a look on the skin beneath. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. 

Tattooed on his ankle was a perfect renditioning of the Fire Nation symbol. 

_No, no, no, this can’t be happening! This must be some sort of cruel joke played by the spirits. There’s no way I have a soulmate and absolutely no way I have a_ Fire Nation _soulmate._

Except, no matter how much he rubbed at the tattoo it refused to disappear. It sat stubbornly on his skin, proclaiming what he refused to accept. He had a soulmate. And his soulmate was Fire Nation. The enemy. The people responsible for killing his and Katara’s mother and the reason their father had to be away at war. The reason why Katara was the last waterbender of the southern tribe. Sokka’s soulmate was one of _them._

In a sudden rush to make sure no one else saw the damning tattoo, Sokka shoved his pant leg down and his shoes on again. He glanced nervously on Katara and Aang but they seemed completely enamored in each other. Two soulmates, as it should be. Not. Not whatever Sokka had been cursed with. 

He vowed that he would ignore the tattoo. If he didn’t acknowledge it then it didn’t exist. 

🪃🔥

Zuko sat alone in his room while his crew toiled to remove the last of the snow that had buried the ship after the Avatar’s parting attack. He sat with his head bowed and teeth gritted together. Anger and shame coursed through him in equal measures.

He had found the Avatar! After being gone for a hundred years without a single trace about their whereabouts and three long years searching the world for any hint of them, he had found the Avatar! A boy in Airbending clothes and tattoos. He had even managed to capture the Avatar single handedly! For a few glorious minutes Zuko had thought he would finally be able to return home and regain his honor and father’s love. 

Then the Avatar had escaped with the two water tribe children and he had seen his last hope literally flying away. 

At least he still had more of a chance than he’d had for three years. If he could just find the Avatar again and capture him again he could still go home. 

Filled with new determination at the thought, Zuko started to work himself out of his armor. He had to take stock of himself after the battle. While the resistance had been far worse than he had anticipated - when Zuko walked down that ramp he had expected a whole tribe of savages charging at him, not a lone boy - he had still taken a few blows. If he was to capture the Avatar he had to be on the top of his game so no injuries could go ignored. 

Dressed down into more casual clothes he took stock of his bruises and aches. Nothing bad, fortunately. He wouldn’t even need any kind of salve or bandages for any of them. Just one last place to check; the back of his head. The boomerang had hit him with more force than he had anticipated and his head still hurt a bit from the impact. He had also felt this strange chilling sensation while it happened, as if someone had pressed a block of ice against his skin.

Probing at the area revealed a slight bump that ached slightly when he touched it. With some reluctance he realized he would have to take a closer look at it and slowly sat down in front of his mirror. His scar stared back at him and he couldn’t keep back a grimace at the ruined skin, the mark of his shame. 

He held up a smaller mirror at the back of his head and swept his phoenix tale to the side to examine the area in the mirror. Zuko blinked in surprise when, right below his hairline, something blue was revealed. Leaning forward and angling the mirror so he could get a better lock of it with his good eye, Zuko realized it was a perfect renditioning of the very same boomerang that had hit him in the head. 

Like a tattoo of the weapon. 

Zuko’s breath quickened and he dropped the small mirror in horror. It shattered against the floor, pieces of glass scattering over the floor, but he barely noticed it.

A soulmate tattoo. There was no other explanation as of how a tattoo had appeared on his skin from one moment to the next. Zuko … Zuko was one half of a soulmate pair. 

Zuko, like all Fire Nation children, had been brought up on stories about how dangerous soulmates were. Everyone knew that Sozin and Roku had been soulmates but that Roku had betrayed Sozin, almost killing him and forcing Sozin to kill him in self defense. He had been forced to bear the mark of a deceased soulmate for the rest of his life. It was also told that the thought of Roku being reborn again, somewhere out in the world and most likely with a new soulmate already, almost drove Sozin mad with pain. 

Soulmates brought nothing but pain and suffering to not only the pair, but to everyone around them as the spirits tried to force them together. Soulmates were dangerous. Sozin had forbidden soulmates from existing in the Fire Nation and all existing pairs had been banished. 

And here Zuko was, not only with a soulmate tattoo, but his soulmate was a _water tribe boy_. There could be no more damning thing marking his skin. Even his scar, that marked him as a shameful coward, was better than this. 

He … he had to make sure no one found out about this. If word of this reached his father Zuko would never be allowed back home. Father had already shown him mercy once, there would be no mercy for this, the worst of betrayals against the Fire Nation. 

Slowly Zuko picked up the broken mirror again. Ruined as it was it still allowed him to catch a glimpse of the tattoo on the back of his head. It was really _right_ beneath the line of hair that pulled back into his phoenix tail. The top of the boomerang was even slightly hidden by the hair. If he just grew out his hair a little bit, he would be able to hide the tattoo from sight. That was the best course of action, as there was no getting rid of a soulmark; not even burning the spot would remove the mark, it would just be visible through the ruined skin. But his hair should be able to cover it. 

It was his only chance. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! If you leave kudos/ comments I'll love you forever!
> 
> My zukka tumblr is [suckerforzukka](https://suckerforzukka.tumblr.com/) if you wanna come chat with me


End file.
